A Conservative Government: What Happens Next … and When?

February 1, 2006

After 12 years of waiting … what happens next? When will it happen?

Those are the questions that the constituents of Prince George-Peace River have been asking me since Canadians elected a Conservative minority government last Monday. I’d like to provide you with some idea of what you can expect in the weeks and months to follow.

First of all, we’re not actually in power yet. Stephen Harper will be sworn in as Prime Minister next Monday, February 6th, along with the new Conservative cabinet. That means we haven’t the authority to even hire staff for the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) or ministers’ offices, let alone make crucial decisions on federal spending and legislation.

Once we actually have some people in place, we can get on with implementing many of our long-held legislative and policy objectives, like tax cuts and scrapping the ineffective and useless long-gun registry. Fortunately, this is precisely why Stephen Harper had the foresight to identify a list of priorities. With such focus, we will be more successful in achieving our goals faster.

Those Conservative government priorities include the Federal Accountability Act; cutting the GST; cracking down on crime; negotiating guaranteed patient wait times with the provinces; and, helping parents with the cost of raising their children.

Once we have offices and staff in place, we will begin drafting legislation. I know through the many private members’ bills I’ve tabled throughout my career as a Member of Parliament, each and every clause of a bill must be extensively scrutinized and researched by legal experts to verify the impact upon other pieces of legislation. This can take a painstaking length of time, but it’s worth it in the long run because poorly prepared and researched legislation is not only a disservice to Canadians, its likelihood of being passed is jeopardized.

We also need to come up with a budget. The pre-budget consultation process normally takes several months, often beginning before the previous year’s budget legislation has even passed. The new Conservative government doesn’t have that kind of time, yet our budgetary process and other legislation will be accelerated. Believe me, Conservative MPs are as impatient as you to get on with the job at hand. Again, this is why it’s good news that Stephen Harper so carefully laid out his priorities and the Conservative policies before the election.

Then there’s the most obvious hurdle to overcome in the coming months. Once we get our legislation into the House of Commons, we face a minority parliament, one that includes the soft-on-crime Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois.

Yet, as I’ve stated many times before, which of those parties is prepared to defend their actions to Canadians if they actually oppose clean accountable government, a GST cut, patient wait time guarantees or ridding our streets of crime?

We know it’s not going to be easy. However the Conservative team is comprised of talented, energetic newcomers, as well as those experienced in the tough decisions and cooperation required to make a minority parliament work. I’m confident we will get the job done for you!

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